NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss was elected to the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Journalists on Thursday while attending the IFJ’s World Congress in Paris. Schleuss joined 22 other leaders at journalists’ trade unions around the world. Delegates also elected a new president from Peru, vice presidents from Palestine, Canada and Tunisia and a treasurer from Italy.
In a speech to more than 200 delegates, Schleuss referenced the challenges to solidarity created by U.S. foreign policy in many parts of the world and said, “I want to build bridges. I want us to build solidarity. I want us to build unity and I want us to build love with all people.”
“It’s important for The NewsGuild-CWA to be at the international table supporting journalists and press freedom around the world,” Schleuss said in a later statement. “We must lock arms across the globe if we’re going to win our battles against disinformation, the rapid spread of AI slop and autocrats attacking a free press.”
NewsGuild of New York President Susan DeCarava joined Schleuss for the Congress.
This year’s World Congress had more than 270 delegates from over 95 countries, including Palestine, Ukraine, Iran, France, Spain, Indonesia, Nepal, Kosovo, Oman, Estonia, Costa Rica, Tunisia, Australia, Germany and Mexico. Representatives from Canada and the United States included the National Writers Union, CWA Canada, Unifor and the Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture–CSN.
Schleuss was elected to a 16-member Executive Committee that meets at least twice a year and supports the work of the federation alongside the president, three vice presidents and the treasurer.
Zuliana Lainez Otero, president of the Asociación Nacional de Periodistas in Peru, was elected president of the federation. She is the first woman from Latin America and the Caribbean to lead the IFJ. Nasser Abu Baker, president of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, was elected senior vice president. Jennifer Moreau, a national representative at Unifor in Canada, was elected vice president. Zied Dabbar, president of the Syndicat National des Journalistes Tunisiens in Tunisia, was elected vice president. Raffaele Lorusso, secretary general of the Federazione Italiana della Stampa in Italy, was elected treasurer. The 16 members of the executive committee include union leaders from Brazil, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Cameroon, Angola, France, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Greece and several other countries.
The IFJ was founded in 1926 and is the world’s largest organisation of journalists, representing 600,000 media professionals in 187 unions and associations in more than 148 countries. Every three years the federation holds a World Congress with member unions from around the world joining to strategize ways to protect press freedom and journalists.